Nigel Pearson press conference | Bristol City vs Brentford

[steviestevieneville]

8 hours ago, Ostrich said:

If you want him to set you on the way to becoming another Leicester, you might need to get used to being bottle jobs, we've got it almost down to a tee

Watched your game last night . Didn’t you do this last season but had injuries ? You missed some chances but I thought Newcastle played well. 
could always swap places with us if you want

[Wiltshire robin]

12 hours ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Knockaert missed a last minute penalty? 

Yeh and then deeney scored straight after 

[Unan]

12 hours ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Knockaert missed a last minute penalty? 

 

6 minutes ago, Wiltshire robin said:

Yeh and then deeney scored straight after 

 

 

[M.D]

20 minutes ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

I respectfully disagree given from what we've actually seen on field thus far. I'll be first to be very presently surprised if things 'suddenly' click but as yet I am seeing no evidence of that. Instead we have a manager trading off reputation, much like those in the squad, without actually delivering anything of note. 

If that changes then great, however some evidence of that, (and at this stage more than hot air and bluster would be a bonus) would be welcomed. It's just shy of 3 months til things kick off again. August 7th I think.  Some hope would certainly give some impetus for the next year. 

 

Respectfully I think it's almost impossible to judge him at the moment or form an opinion.

I agree that results have been awful and I did expect a more solid team from him at this time.

But I think he's been experimenting so far and finding out about certain players on the pitch with a view of moving forward.

I am a little disappointed but if he is doing what I think he is then I'm still very optimistic about how he will rebuild the club..

[steviestevieneville]

14 minutes ago, Banned User said:

 

 

 

That’s brilliant but the best version is from sky sports news . The reaction from the reporter is brilliant

 

[cidered abroad]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

NP is still preparing the soil, planting starts on Sunday.  Water, nurture, water, nurture throughout the summer.

Turn the tap off occasionally and they have to learn how to dig hard to find any moisture which is essential to survival of all forms of life. Our squad has had it too easy for too long.

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, M.D said:

Respectfully I think it's almost impossible to judge him at the moment or form an opinion.

I agree that results have been awful and I did expect a more solid team from him at this time.

But I think he's been experimenting so far and finding out about certain players on the pitch with a view of moving forward.

I am a little disappointed but if he is doing what I think he is then I'm still very optimistic about how he will rebuild the club..

That’s where I am too.

I kinda expected him to come in and make us all solid, build from there.

1. we won a couple early on, then Brum too, so the necessity to scrape points want there
2. I’m not sure he had the players to do it either

36 minutes ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

I get your point, however the knives were out for DH and others with less time gone, yet NP seems to be absolved of this. It's difficult to square, especially given the on field performances, 

I don't agree regarding the experimentation thus far as NP has hardly been tinkerman nor has he done anything massively unexpected as youth progression has been coming for some time. 

I'll be optimistic with some tangible evidence of progression, I guess that makes me agnostic in that sense as I've a nagging doubt, listening to my gut that this is not going to work. I may be wrong and will be happy to be proved so. Hope would be nice though. It's that which makes BCFC such a rollercoaster, the hope, 

Oh gosh for consistent performances that would be epic right now. 

For some fans, yes.  For other fans, me included, not so.

Others will disagree, but I do think the series of events of MA blabbing to Sky “we will get our value on the pitch” (underwritten by SL, so not just blaming MA), then his interviews with Gregor and Geoff had a huge affect on the squad.  It may’ve happened anyway, but to bring it to the attention of the fans that one player was allowed to be offered a lucrative contract, whilst COVID finances stopped anyone else, was pretty clumsy.  I wrote about it (a fair bit) at the time.  I wrote about how it could impact the squad dynamic.  The heart went out of the team.  We saw Kalas almost in tears in a post-match interview.  So DH hamstrung by the board.  NP comes in and it’s no different.  But he’s also had no opportunity to bring players in, shift players out. That can start tomorrow.

So, I think you’re right to question whether we are being consistent in our views of each manager’s teams performances on the pitch.  Both DH (latter run) and NP have struggled.  But it’s not an apples and apples comparison.

So, I think the question then becomes “who do you think is best to do a rebuild”?  That’s where my focus is.  It’s not brushing off results, to my mind, it’s really shown us fans the true picture, both of the players levels (football and mind) and decline the club has been in on the pitch.  Factor in the structure between owner and manager / head-coach that’s now got a big gap, and I think most fans would back Pearson over Holden to try to build us back up.

The results on the pitch are just one aspect, a pretty important aspect, but identifying the issues outside of that are equally important in planning the route ahead.

Its up to you to form your opinion, but for me it’s not one (in these circumstances) that is looking back, nor is it one that is looking at just what happens on the pitch.  But nor am I naive to think appointing NP is the golden ticket.  There are no guarantees in football, and certainly not in managerial appointments, but I hear a clarity from NP.  It isn’t nothingness like “we go again”, “take a hard look in the mirror”.  He’s actually come out and told us the root causes, but he hasn’t thrown individuals under the bus in doing that.

I’m not trying to get you to change your mind, just explaining my position on this, and where I was with DH as I most definitely wasn’t “knives out for Dean”.

[Davefevs]

1 minute ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

It's a great post, thanks for taking time out to respond to it.

 

The Kalas interview was pure exasperation on his part and it showed a man who'd given everything and could do no more, that he's been 'broken' since has been testament to that. 

I really wonder what if any MH infrastructure there is in place at AG at present for the players in terms of support as it's clear as day that there are ongoing issues with Pandemic playing, and a whole host of other issues that NP alluded to early on but didn't care (which was a red flag for me, in whichever interview it was)

it is an obvious gap in “football”.  I’m not up to speed in that area.  City did have a sports psychologist (Kevin Mincher - worth a Google if you haven’t), but he’s gone.  Matt Parsons performs the player liaison role, but my knowledge stops there.

A few years ago I applied to the Football League to work with young players regarding a new programme they were setting up and even then pastoral care, was part of my pitch. I didnt get the job, though was close. Things such as being  Away from home, stranger in a strange land etc, and it's something that really isnt discussed openly nor are their any clear and transparent pathways towards that and was something that really needs working on. In every day life there's all kinds of EAP type things as well as others, in sport and football in particular it's sporting chance and the PFA and that's really that.

remember reading about Lyon signing Sonny Anderson (from Brazilian club).  They’d just spent a bomb on him (in their terms) and immediately realised they needed to help him settle in.  They got to understand his culture, etc, etc….and off the back of that made it a constraint that they’d only recruit Brazilians from South America, as they had a good setup and understanding of their needs.  Contrast that with Drogba when he joined Chelsea, bought a house on the wrong side of London, had no idea how far Cobham was, etc, etc.  Contrast that with Kodjia, who allegedly had to get a fan to drive his car to his first home match, because he’d only ever driven to Failand, not AG.

They do lead pampered lives, but they are also in a bit of a bubble so need support too.

Our squad appear shell shocked and traumatised, it's clear on the pitch and it's also apparent that there isnt a range of changes in things under new management.

very true for some / the collective, but the likes of HNM are thriving.  Not all bad, eh?

You mention apples for apples, but it's the remit of a good manager to get the best of the players, in this case the best of what he has got, and at this stage as you've alluded too. He's not doing that on the field.

Change management should really starting to bare fruit now. However after three months there's nothing discernibly different to what has gone before, certainly on the field and there's no apparent differences in operations openly yet.

Not visible no, but we will get to see whether that has been happening covertly in the coming days and weeks through players released, retained, staff changes, etc.

Staff change, but there's nothing their in place to cement changes in operations and this is really day 1 stuff tbh.

two staff have left already, another just waiting to go.

Ironically I dont agree with ripping up and starting again, each and every time, because it's one of the football things that get's my wick and doesnt allow for progression as literally everything is temporary. What's the point trying if it's just going to be torn up again and then redone, and so forth and so on.  I loved the five pillars concept and wish we hadnt silently ditched it when we got all star struck after Man United and then began what has been sign 'names' from good clubs, in an attempt to Pokemon (catch them all) our way up the league.

the legacy of 5 years of MA shouldn’t be a re-build (rip it up)….and I think NP recognises you can’t do that either, so is managing expectations about it perhaps not being so many out and so many in, and will be more transitional instead.

We actually still on paper have a good squad, supplemented by good youth players and even with the OOC stuff, we should be still able to field a competitive side. We are not currently.

unfortunately it only takes one player to not tow the line, not put their shift in and the team breaks down.  I think there have been 2/3/4 in some games not operating at the level of effort required.  I think NP has tested a few, given a few some chances, and eventually realised he’s trying to flog a dead horse.  He’s then had to balance that with not exposing the youngsters.  Not an easy balance.  I see positive in Bakinson’s reaction too.  Another small-win of man-management.

Tactically naive and unable to complete the basics, even Benny got that right after some drubbings vs Bradford and  Wolves etc and by the end of the season we were doing well enough to beat a star studded Norwich side with a goal from Lorenzo Pinamonte and hammered an Ivan Bonetti (sign all the midefielders iirc) Grimsby 4-1 amongst others. Yes their were losses and yes  we'd gone name crazy again, leaving the manager hamstrung with what he could do, but there was at least progression. History has a habit of repeating itself here and crucially we never seem to learn from it, hence why we rinse and repeat. 

This time I'm not feeling it, and the root and branch changes could be false dawn, or false prophet number 98 billion.  All i'm actually asking for is something that shows shoots of recovery, but at this stage it's not evident.

on the pitch I’d point to Massengo, Bakinson, Conway….controversial but Lansbury has improved too.

Off the pitch, he’s decided on some of his coaching staff….although we don’t know if they’ll perform the same roles as today.  We can only speculate on the root cause of injuries, but Rolls moving on might be jump before pushed.

Lots to keep monitoring….

 

 

 

 

 

[Merrick's Marvels]

13 hours ago, Ostrich said:

If you want him to set you on the way to becoming another Leicester, you might need to get used to being bottle jobs, we've got it almost down to a tee

Rest assured, we've specialised in playoff heartbreak from the minute they were introduced in the 80s

[steviestevieneville]

Picking up on NP’s statement of a change of recruitment philosophy . I’m surprised it’s not been mentioned more as it’s been a massive topic . He mentioned a “shift “ in recruitment & also saying he wants a smaller robust squad with more quality. 
does anyone think as I hope it’s a change from the bloody ridiculous club in the bag mentality . 

[Roger Red Hat]

1 minute ago, steviestevieneville said:

does anyone think as I hope it’s a change from the bloody ridiculous club in the bag mentality . 

I bloody well hope so too.

[CodeRed]

20 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

Picking up on NP’s statement of a change of recruitment philosophy . I’m surprised it’s not been mentioned more as it’s been a massive topic . He mentioned a “shift “ in recruitment & also saying he wants a smaller robust squad with more quality. 
does anyone think as I hope it’s a change from the bloody ridiculous club in the bag mentality . 

You misheard - He said there''s a shit in recruitment, thankfully he's now left the club.

[zippycar]

On 07/05/2021 at 07:06, Robbored said:

Common practice when I was at school and at home. My big sister used to do it to me..........

Me too, must have been a big sister thing 

[Redrascal2]

14 hours ago, RalphMilnesLeftFoot said:

I respectfully disagree given from what we've actually seen on field thus far. I'll be first to be very presently surprised if things 'suddenly' click but as yet I am seeing no evidence of that. Instead we have a manager trading off reputation, much like those in the squad, without actually delivering anything of note. 

If that changes then great, however some evidence of that, (and at this stage more than hot air and bluster would be a bonus) would be welcomed. It's just shy of 3 months til things kick off again. August 7th I think.  Some hope would certainly give some impetus for the next year. 

 

If by reputation you mean what a player or the manager has achieved, l struggle to see what reputation  our players are trading off. As for Pearson I think his achievements suggests he should be given some time to turn the team around. And I would think that will be steady improvement when the squad has been sorted out. I wouldn't have thought there is a manager currently working who could suddenly click our current squad in to shape. But to think it will not take him some time is is misguided.